The use of jewelry to enhance appearance has been known since antiquity. The particular item of jewelry chosen should complement or accent other items of dress. Frequently, this complementing or accenting of the other items of dress is accomplished through the choice of color of the jewelry item, such as the color of a bead on a necklace or bracelet.
In recent years, necklaces and bracelets have been sold along with a collection of beads to be placed on the necklace or bracelet, the beads being of varying color, design, etc. so that the person wearing the jewelry could select a different color combination or pattern for each item of dress, without having to have an "inventory" of different necklaces and bracelets for each item of dress which was to be worn. The beads employed on a necklace or bracelet on one occasion could be removed from a support, replaced in a storage device, and different beads employed on the support to complement or accentuate a different item of dress.
While the jewelry chains employed to support these different colored or designed beads were generally of the type which had long been used in the jewelry field, being the standard thin strand or chain of loops formed of gold, silver, or some other metal, the clasp presented a different problem. Not only did the jewelry clasp for a necklace or bracelet meant to support varying color beads have to be designed to close the necklace or bracelet, but it also had to be useful with beads that were put on or removed from the chain at the will of the user.
The prior art's normal approach to dealing with the problem was to use two different closure members for the necklace or bracelet. One closure member performed the usual function of holding the two ends of the chain together so that the item of jewelry could be worn, while another clasp or connection device was employed to open the chain for placement of beads onto the chain, or removal of beads from the chain. Not only is this inconvenient, but it also generates additional expense.